1. Field
A light emitting diode (LED) package, and a backlight unit, and an illumination device including the same are disclosed. A liquid crystal display device including the backlight unit is also disclosed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal display (“LCD”) devices form an image by receiving external light, unlike plasma display panels (“PDPs”) and field emission displays (“FEDs”) which form an image using self-emitting light. Thus, the LCD device includes a backlight unit on the rear side thereof for emitting light.
As a type of backlight unit for an LCD device, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (“CCFL”) has been used as a light source. However, the use of the CCFL as a light source may result in a lack of uniform luminance and may demonstrate deteriorated color purity when the LCD device has a larger screen.
Recently, a backlight unit which uses a light emitting diode (“LED”) as a light source has been developed. An LED refers to a device emitting light when electrons and holes are encountered at an interface between a p-type and an n-type semiconductor material (i.e. a P—N semiconductor junction) during the application of a current.
The use of an LED as a backlight unit light source or as a general illumination device is presently receiving a lot of attention due to the many merits of an LED, such as a long life-span, a low power consumption rate, and a bright lighting despite being a small size.